


Little Drummer Boy

by That_1_Name



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: Ali has a crush, But Daniel and Johnny have a CRUSH, Drummer Johnny, F/M, First Meetings, Garage band - AU, M/M, one shot (for now)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:13:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25010671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/That_1_Name/pseuds/That_1_Name
Summary: Daniel and his mother have just moved into town, and Daniel decides to check out the area. He stumbles upon something, and someone, that changes the whole move for him for the better.
Relationships: Daniel LaRusso/Ali Mills, Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence
Comments: 5
Kudos: 89





	Little Drummer Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so this idea sprang up from a discussion I had with a friend, who brought it to my attention that APPARENTLY it is canon that Johnny Lawrence knows how to play the drums. My first reply upon hearing that was: "Garage band AU". 
> 
> And here we are! Hope you enjoy it because I may or may not be planning to make this into a bigger thing than I originally intended.

The California sun was a far cry from the one back in New Jersey, but at least the summer heat it was giving off gave some semblance of where he just came from. If Daniel closed his eyes, he could almost feel like he was back home. His mother moving them was, in her own words, “To help make our lives a little easier. Just bare with me for a few months and I promise the trip will be worth it. Who knows, maybe you’ll meet some new friends, enjoy the sights, and maybe find a little girlfriend?”

“Mom,” Daniel said in that usual exasperated tones teenagers get when their parents try to be supportive. Leave it to Lucille LaRusso to try to make the best of a terrible situation.

“I’m just saying, Daniel, moping around the apartment until school starts up is not healthy for a boy your age. We’re near the beach, go build a sandcastle, live a little.”

Daniel didn’t reply, soaking up the sun that was coming through their apartment window. He nestled his head into the crook of his crossed arms on the kitchen table, eyes trained out into the courtyard of their apartment complex. A dirty, near empty pool with a potentially senile old lady keeping watch; this was supposed to be what starts the beginning of this chapter of his life? Something was burning inside him ever since his mother told him the news of their leaving a few months ago, but the problem is he can’t tell if it was anger towards the situation that took him away into a strange new territory or if it was the chance to experience something new, finally able to let go and maybe figure out a part of himself that has only recently been unearthed due to nature’s influence: puberty.

He felt a sharp smack on the back of his head, “Ow!”

“Did you hear anything I just said, Daniel?”

“Yes,” Daniel hissed through his teeth as he rubbed the back of his forehead, “go to the beach or something.”

“Also to call up the apartment’s repairman before you leave. The sink in the kitchen is acting up and with what rent is around here they better fix it or else.” She gave Daniel her patented death glare that she assumes is threatening but her son finds hilarious with how he covers his mouth to hide his grin. It doesn’t go past her as she rolls her eyes before ruffling Daniel’s hair, “I’m gonna head out now, don’t be a shut in.”

“Yes, mom, love ya.”

“Love you, too, my little Danny.”

Daniel groaned at the pet name, which elicited a laugh from his mother. He almost forgot what his mother’s laugh sounded like with how much stress she’s been under from work. The move, the new position, all of it was taking a toll on her, and Daniel was not blind to it. He would sometimes wake up late at night at their old home and find his mother in the kitchen running over numbers for things that went over his head, but she would assure him that there was nothing to worry about. _As long as we have each other, Daniel, we’ll always have a home._

Those words echoing in his head brought back that feeling of loss. Back home is where his friends were, where he had his first kiss, and where his dad is . . .

Pushing up from the table, as if running from the thought, he dashed out the door, completely forgetting to call the repairman.

\----

Riding his bike along these unknown streets, Daniel swerved and weaved his way through traffic of people and cars. The air was sizzling with a heat that already had his shirt glued to his back with sweat, and the glare of the sun atop the cars that zoomed by nearly blinded him. The beach seemed like a good idea to just go and cool off, at first anyway. When he got there the place was littered with families and teenage cliques soaking up and enjoying the summer days while they lasted. From atop the hill that looked down on to the sandy dunes, Daniel decided that the beach would have to wait for another time.

So, he rode around, no real direction or destination. With only a few bucks and change in his pocket, and his allowance at least a few weeks away, he couldn’t really go into any arcades or fast food joints. He was not even sure where he was anymore. The sun was getting low in the sky, and he somehow wondered into a local neighborhood with actual houses. He was just about to turn around, getting a sense from how pristine some of the housing looked that he definitely would not be welcomed here, till he heard something faint off in the distance. At first he mistook it for someone’s boombox, but it would stop and start up again with feedback playing at wrong notes plucked. Curiosity peaked, Daniel couldn’t pass up the chance to check out this mystery. Slowly he rode along the deserted streets, heart beating fast into his chest, eyes darting to and fro to make sure no one was watching him. He was trying for inconspicuous like in those old black and white films his mother loved to watch, but it was hard to not stand out when everything about you made you stand out. The sound was getting louder, seeming to match the intensity of his breathing, till he pulled up to a picket fence to a house that had its garage door open, where the sound seemed to be coming from. Ducking behind a nearby trash can, Daniel risked a glance and saw something he never expected to see: an authentic garage band.

The front man, who was rocking on the microphone with a guitar in hand, was twirling his sandy brown hair around to the bass player’s rhythm. Now, she was a sight to Daniel’s eyes. Pretty dark-blond hair done up in a ponytail with wavy locks framing a cute face, eyes aimed down at her hands as they seemed to glide along those chords, making it look effortless for her to play that bass. His eyes were so engrossed with watching her that he nearly missed the drummer, who suddenly started playing like a mad man. Guess it must be the drum solo. Another blond head appeared in his sight, hair shining with sweat from what little light was in the garage. Daniel from the distance could feel each hit on the drum as if he was standing right next to it. The power that guy must have to hit it with such force must’ve been crazy. Then that’s when Daniel saw his face and felt his heart suddenly jump into his throat. He had round cheeks and a set chin that seemed too soft for someone with such strength to have. Daniel was transfixed, watching the drummer perform that everyone else in the band seemed to fade into the background. Until the song ended and he heard the singer cry out, instantly breaking the spell, “Dang it, Johnny, I told you to watch where you come in with the solo!”

“I wasn’t late, Bobby, you just have terrible hearing.”

“If I do it’s only because of your terrible playing!”

The two went back and forth as the girl just leisurely fiddled with her bass. She started walking outside of the garage, getting her full of the argument between the two for the umpteenth time that day. That was when Daniel decided he needed to leave now before he was seen. He turned quickly, careful not to trip over the trash can, but caught his foot on a piece of pavement that was sticking up. He quickly got up, and, to his surprise, he found the girl silently watching him. A hidden blessing that the other two were too preoccupied to notice. Daniel froze in place, unsure what to do, so he did the first thing that came to mind. He gave a soft smile and waved, and, again to his surprise, she returned the gesture; a short little awkward wave that made the smile Daniel was sporting wider. Quickly, he jumped onto his bike and rode away, leaving Ali both confused and a little charmed by her band’s secret audience.

“Hey, Ali, get in here and tell Johnny how much his drumming sucks!”

“Lay off me, Bobby, or I’ll take you out into the yard and we’ll settle this like men!”

“Oh, go ahead,” smirked Ali as she reentered the garage, “I love nothing more than to see two guys roll around in the grass as part of my day’s entertainment.”

Johnny’s face flushed a little as he stammered for a response, but Bobby was quick to the draw, “Ha, you hear that? She wasn’t even remotely entertained by what we did. Though, it does look pretty tempting to roll around in the grass.” Bobby wiped his brow, face red from both exhaustion and the heat.

“I say we done enough practice for the day, I don’t know about you boys, but I’m gonna head out to the beach,” Ali spoke while delicately putting away her bass, careful not to damage it in anyway. She couldn’t imagine what would happen if her bass was dented; her parents were absolutely against her having such an instrument, considering it beneath a “lady” to touch such a crude device. Ali had to make a promise to her parents that in exchange for just letting her buy one she had to go to a college of their choosing, but they made sure to attach the caveat that she should never play it under any circumstances. Hence the secret band practice at Bobby’s house since his parents don’t really care that much what their son does and Johnny’s place is too . . . problematic.

“Mind if Johnny and I tag along,” asked Bobby leaning on his mic-stand.

Ali shrugged, not caring either way, “Do what you want, just don’t cause a scene or you’ll have to find yourself a new bass player.”

“Deal,” he immediately turned to his best friend, “Hey, Johnny, feel up to the beach?”

Johnny was mindlessly drumming away with his fingers as the two were conversing; it took Bobby tapping one of his symbols to finally snap him out of his stupor, “Huh, what?”

“Beach, Johnny. Tonight?”

“Oh, yeah, sure, whatever.”

“Can you believe this guy? ‘Whatever’, geez, you think he just want to drum his summer away.”

Johnny ignored his friend’s comment, already lost back in practicing a new rhythm he discovered the other day. Moments like these remind Ali why she had broken up with Johnny in the first place. Originally when they got together, Ali swore that Johnny was hiding something, like how he really is a big softie underneath that sour attitude he has, but as the months dragged on he became more distant, more occupied with his drum set than his girlfriend. She was the one to call it quits, and Johnny, in his typical fashion, took it hard. After having Bobby serve as their go-between for a few weeks they reached an understanding and formed a mutual friendship for the sake of the band.

Ali tucked her bass away in Bobby’s garage, who swore to heaven that he’ll take good care of it as he did Johnny’s drums. Once she was sure it was secured, she decided to indulge her band mates to their little surprise guest, “So, boys, was I the only one to see we weren’t alone for the end of today’s practice?”

“Huh, what you mean,” Bobby paused putting away his guitar, the confusion on his face answering Ali’s question.

Ali groaned, annoyed at how easy the two of them could be distracted, “Maybe if you two were to stop getting into each other’s faces, maybe you would have noticed that we had an audience of one today.”

“Wait, no shit, for real? Like an actual person?”

“I don’t know what else makes up an audience to you, Bobby, but, yes, an actual person. A boy; he looked around my age.” She recollected the mysterious boy, his soft brown eyes, the defined jawline, and that beautiful head of hair. Ali had to pause her train of thought before she started blushing, but the attraction must’ve shown on her face as when she came out of her thoughts Johnny was staring at her.

“Did you happen to get a good look at him,” he asked eyeing her.

She nodded quickly, turning her gaze away, “He left real quick though. I didn’t recognize his face, so he mustn’t be anyone from school. Maybe a vacationer from out of state here for the summer?”

Johnny huffed, resuming his drumming, “Good.”

Ali shot him a glare, the air getting a little tense.

“Vacationer or not, he’s a potential fan! Think about it guys, we might actually have a fan that is not related to us!” Bobby was giddy with excitement at the news while Johnny seemed to be taking the opposite response. Ali can only hope that the mystery fan will have the luck of not going anywhere near the beach tonight as she can only imagine what will happen if he and Johnny ever crossed paths.

\-----

Daniel was not sure if he ever peddled that fast before in his life with how his legs started to cramp up once he slowed down. Leaning outside a strip mall he passed by earlier in Reseda gave him a moment of respite to put together the events that just happened: 1) he saw a garage band, which was pretty cool despite them being ok at best; 2) he saw this cute girl, who was a pretty decent bass player; and, this being the one currently plaguing his mind, 3) he saw this handsome drummer, who was still running laps in his thoughts.

Try as hard as he could his brain refused to think of anything other than those golden locks and arms at work. “Great,” he thought, “this is just what I needed.” California was already turning into a bust of a fresh start and adding on a crush, on a guy no less, was just the thing to cap off the end of a horrible day. Right now, what Daniel needed more than anything was something to help clear his head and stop the tremble in his heart.

With a set determination to get some enjoyment out of the day, Daniel decided to take back up the earlier goal he had and make for the beach. Crowd or no crowd, he was not going let the day end horribly, so, with the sun long gone and the night settling in, he headed out.

\------

With the moon shining above, Ali took in a deep breath of that ocean air, blocking out the sound of the people partying nearby. Her eyes were trained on the horizon, feet planted in the sand as the waves came and brushed over them. Here she could forget the anxieties of living a double life, the troubled glances that her parents would send her at home, and the fears of a fixed future chosen for her as she neared graduation. She let the waves carry away the troubles, hoping they’ll wash ashore somewhere far from her. Johnny and Bobby were relaxing more inland on a few towels that they had situated around a little campfire they started, Johnny shooting the occasional glance at Ali, which did not go missed by his friend.

Bobby nudged him, “You know, you really should look into meeting someone new.”

Johnny shot him a quick glance, eyes trying to be intimidating but to Bobby just showed how desperate the poor guy was. Johnny scoffed, “I’m fine, Bobby, I don’t need anyone.”

“That’s good and all but if that’s the case you need to at least set your sights on someplace that doesn’t have Ali in view,” Bobby spoke softly, leaning into his friend’s space, “I worry about you is all.” When it came to speaking frankly, especially about emotions, Bobby still had many years ahead of him before he would perfect the art. Thankfully, Johnny pretty much got the gist of what he was getting at.

“Stop worrying, I’ll figure something out once I get out of here.”

Bobby’s face twisted for a second, torn between being happy and worried. Those words his friend just uttered seemed strained, “So you really plan on leaving once you graduate?”

“There’s nothing for me here, might as well leave before I end up stuck here forever,” Johnny’s hand clenched up a pile of sand out of view of his friend. He needed to leave before things got worse. He had to keep repeating the phrase in his head in the hope that it’ll become a reality. He has to get out, maybe off to the opposite coast where he could live out his days without having to see a familiar face; new crowds that’ll let him make a new life. No more Sid, no more Ali, no more mistakes.

While the two were having their heart-to-heart, Ali took this chance to take a stroll along the beach, lost in her thoughts and the crashing of the waves. She was not sure how long she walked for till she stumbled upon someone sitting near the water, staring out into it. Normally, Ali would’ve just kept on walking, but the person’s hair caught her eye, and, when she got closer, she knew instantly where she recognized him from.

Summoning up a courage she didn’t know she had, she spoke kindly, “Hi there.”

Daniel’s head shot up and landed on none other than that girl from earlier. Ali was her name, if he recalled right.

Her eyes reflected the light of the moon from the water and nearby campfires, making them seem to radiate with warmth. Daniel felt his cheeks warm up a little and did his best to act like he was not just taken by surprise, “Oh, hi, funny running into here. Thought California was supposed to be a big state, guess it’s not if we bumped into each other again.”

He rose, wiping the sand off his hands before reaching one out, “Name’s Daniel.”

“Ali, nice to finally meet our secret fan,” she giggled, shaking his hand.

Daniel’s face fell out of embarrassment, “Sorry about that, I was kind of just in the neighborhood and stumbled upon you guys practicing.”

“What were you doing in Encino Hills?”

“Taking in the houses,” he flashes her his best grin, foot kicking up sand to act nonchalant, “I’m new in town and I figure I might as well pick out a summer home while I’m here.”

She covers her mouth to cover a snort, “Really?”

“What, don’t I seem the type?”

She took in his look. His clothes looked like secondhand hand-me-downs, and up close she could make out a few tears here and there. He definitely wouldn’t fit in at the parties her parents threw, which made her trust him a little more.

“It’s just if you’re looking for good property, I stay clear of Encino Hills. Nothing but rich snobs and lonely widows up there.”

“Does that mean you were married once because you are far from a rich snob,” there’s that brilliant smile again, which sent Ali’s heart into a tizzy.

She was engrossed in that smile that she didn’t hear steps approaching from behind till she felt a hand on her shoulder, nudging her aside.

Johnny kicked himself for losing sight of Ali, blaming Bobby profusely for distracting him. Now when he does find her just a few feet down the shoreline, she finds her talking to some boy. Well Johnny isn’t going to let some runt come up and bother Ali, not if he can say anything about it. The goal was simple: intimidate the little punk till he runs off. Ali, of course, will get mad at him, but he was only looking out for her. Creeps and lowlifes are crawling all over the place, and a part of Johnny is protective of her. He had just pulled her to the side and was about to unleash hell upon the poor son of a bitch . . .

“Is this guy-” till his eyes fell on him.

He was scrawny, like the birds he sees flying outside his home, but those eyes staring up at him. Those bea(STUPID)utiful brown eyes that seemed to pierce into his, and hair that seemed so soft that he wanted to (PUNCH/KICK) comb his hand through it. His brain was suddenly sent into overdrive as two conflicting sides clashed. The kid was (WEAK/PATHETIC) handsome, and Johnny lost his voice, forgetting what he was supposed to say. Was it a threat? He thinks it was a threat. He’s going to go with a threat to be on the safe side.

“Bothering you?” His voice came out unsure of itself, but, thankfully, Ali was too preoccupied with the sudden rage filling her up to notice.

“Jesus, Johnny, can you leave me alone?! How many times do I have to tell you I can take care of myself!?”

Daniel was breathing raggedly, chest painfully numb from getting a face full of the drummer, while his cheeks felt like they were radiating from being out in the sun for too long. Words suddenly failed him, and he found himself wanting to swim in those two pools of water that were looking at him. The way the light danced along them reminded him of the ocean back home when the moon could be seen reflecting off the surface. His hair seemed a blaze from the nearby camp fires, which only added to the overall image that rendered his mind dumbstruck. To Daniel, even though he could faintly hear Ali shouting right next to him, she might have well been miles away as it seemed only the two of them were here.

A single thought crossed Daniel’s mind: _Oh_ . . .

A single word summed up Johnny’s feelings: _Shit._

“So you better apologize right this instant, Johnny, or so help me I’ll storm right off now and you’ll never see me again,” Ali huffed, face burning hot from just how much her blood was boiling. She waited for Johnny’s response, but nothing came. She was about to tell him off again when she noticed the way his eyes were looking at Daniel; there was no malice there but confusion? A little taken aback, she turned to Daniel to apologize, but, to her astonishment, she found his eyes were locked onto his; plus, his eyes did not show any shred of fear. The two were zoomed in on each other, and Ali was completely lost in the situation, feeling now like an observer to something she can’t quite figure out. Before she could start putting the pieces together as to what this new tension in the air was, Bobby appeared, leaping onto Johnny’s back and knocking him out of whatever trance he was in.

“Cool it there, Johnny-boy, we don’t want to lose our only bassist,” he had Johnny in a choke hold, trying to pull him away from what he saw was a shrimp of a kid who had the unlucky chance to have a run in with his best friend. Johnny thrashed about, till, to Daniel’s amazement, he planted his feet in the sand, grabbed onto his friend’s arms, and swung him overhead into the sand away from them.

“Whoa,” seemed the proper response in Daniel’s mind and what he said without knowing it, which caught the attention of Johnny. Their eyes met again for an instant before Johnny scowled and sharply turned his gaze away to his friend Bobby in the sand.

“Do that again, and you’re going into the water next time.”

“No problem,” Bobby weakly said from his place.

“Ahem, if you two are done, I like you to properly meet my new friend here,” Ali leaned into Daniel, placing a hand on his back to push him a little forward to the group.

Daniel took a second to introduce himself out of surprise of being called a “friend”. “Uh, hi, I’m Daniel LaRusso. Nice to meet you.”

Johnny only continued to scowl at him. Sensing she’ll be getting nothing out of Johnny, Ali took charge with the introductions, “The one in the sand is Bobby.” Bobby gave a weak wave. “And the one throwing a temper tantrum is Johnny.” Johnny gave a half-hearted wave more so out of a need to play nice for Ali’s sake.

She hooked her arm with Daniel’s and beamed at the others, “Daniel here is our band’s secret admirer.”

Bobby shot up, “Wow for real?”

“Eh,” Daniel’s face flushed again from being the center of attention, “I only seen you guys practice for like a little bit. Don’t know if that qualifies me as a fan yet.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Bobby marched over to Daniel, giving him an enthusiastic handshake that had Daniel’s entire arm shaking, “an audience is better than no audience.”

“Oh, that reminds me, we were wondering earlier if you happened to be here just for the summer? We get a lot of vacation goers as you can tell,” Ali gestured to the beach that still has a few random beachgoers spread about.

“No, my mom and I just moved here.” Daniel explained what brought them to California, sparing the occasional glance in Johnny’s direction, whose face seemed to be in a permanent frown.

“That’s awesome,” Ali said gleefully, face lighting up with a smile that could make any man’s heart skip a beat, “that means you can come to more of our practices.” Johnny visibly tensed at that, seeming to want to say something, but chose to keep it to himself.

Bobby’s grin grew to match Ali’s, “Great thinking, so what do you say, Daniel, think you could pencil us into your busy schedule?”

Daniel’s eyes turned from Bobby’s grin to Ali’s smile that showed off the pearly whites of her teeth, and, in between the two, was Johnny, who was only silently regarding him. Daniel’s heart skipped again, feeling that he should say no, but there was that fire in his gut again. Scorching up a path to his chest, the fire demanded to be acknowledged and welcomed the change. Swallowing down the last of his doubts and letting the embers within him burn them up, he returned their smiles, “Yeah, I think I’m free.”

The group hollered, sans Johnny, in celebration. “Cool, it’s gonna be awesome having someone to actually play to!” When asked for his home phone number, Daniel had to apologize since he couldn’t recall it, but he told them that he remembered where they practiced and he’ll come by for their next rehearsal. Ali gave him a small hug, while Bobby just ruffled his hair, which made Johnny’s hands fidget.

“See ya, this coming Saturday, Daniel,” exclaimed Bobby resuming his spot next to a fuming Johnny.

“Be sure not to trip and hurt yourself before then,” winked Ali with a playful grin.

Daniel waved the group off, turning to head off till he heard a firm, “See you around, LaRusso.”

Turning, he found Johnny looking at him, scowl gone, but his lips set in a stern line. The corner of Daniel’s lips twitched, and he had to take a breath to compose himself. He smiled brightly at Johnny, “Later, drummer boy.”

Johnny’s scowl returned immediately and the others laughed as Daniel ran off. “Shut up,” he spat out to his friends, covering his face to make sure no one saw the blush he had.

\-------

The bike ride back to his new home seemed like a whole new experience in light of what had just happened. Daniel suddenly felt lighter than before, completely forgotten were the problems plaguing him this morning, replaced with the bubbling warmth that was wrapping him up in its embrace. He had new friends, and Daniel couldn’t be happier, till he stepped into his apartment and found his mom waiting for him.

Lucille rose up from the kitchen table with a sharp breath, “Daniel, where have you been? I’ve been worried sick!”

Daniel held his ground but could feel a teensy bit of regret bubble up as he looked at the worried lines on her face, “Sorry, I was just checking out the neighborhood and ended up at the beach where I lost track of time.”

She narrowed her eyes, not completely satisfied with that answer, “I’m sure I don’t have to get you a watch to know to be home before it gets dark. This is still a new place; we don’t even know how the people are around here.”

“I know, I’m sorry, mom.” Thankfully, Daniel had mastered the art of pacifying his mother through the use of what she calls his “baby browns”. He sent her his most apologetic look, and he could see her anger fizzle out.

Letting out a breath she had been holding since she came home to an empty apartment, Lucille visibly relaxed. She walked over to him, kissing the top of his head, “Just don’t freak me out like this again, ok? At least leave me a note or something, gonna give your poor mother a heart attack one of these days, I swear.”

She led Daniel to the kitchen table, where dinner was laid out and waiting for him. They ate and Daniel made small talk about how her first day went. She complained about some of the people she had to work with, how her new boss is a little sleazy, “But nothing I can’t handle. He tries to make a move on me, and I’ll have him drinking through a straw. No one messes with us LaRussos.”

As dinner winded down, Daniel took this chance to tell his mother the big news, “So, I made some friends today.”

Her face lit up instantly, “You did? Oh, Danny, I’m so happy to hear that!” She rose and rushed over to him and pressed a big kiss to his cheek despite his protests, “See, told ya, you just have to give this place time before it’ll warm up to ya.” As she cleared off the table, he could tell she was curious to ask him a little more about them. “So,” she threw into the air offhandedly as she placed the dishes into the sink, “are they nice?”

“Yeah, they seem pretty cool. They’re actually in a band together.”

“Oh, neat. Hopefully none of that rock music, that stuff always gives me a headache.”

“No,” Daniel lied as he was unsure what kind of music they played, “I don’t think so.”

“Good,” she started fiddling with the facets of the sink before realizing they weren’t working. Her face fell again, the angry mother voice replacing the calm one she just had, “Daniel, don’t tell me you forgot to call the repairman like I told you to?”

Daniel went quiet, face still to not give any tells that he absolutely forgot to do just that, “Yeah, I did, but he said he couldn’t come up today.”

She eyed him, hands settling on her hip to see if she could break her son’s resolve. After a tense half minute, she gave up, “Fine, but next thing tomorrow morning, you ARE going down to talk to him personally and make sure he takes care of it. Last thing I want to do is use that nasty pool to wash our dishes.”

Daniel left his mother to deal with the dishes as he headed back to his room. The walls were still barren, boxes filled with his things settled into the middle of the room. He decided he’ll unpack officially tomorrow as the ups and downs of the day finally caught up to him as he fell onto his bed, the mattress groaning loudly.

Staring up at the ancient ceiling of this rinky-dink bedroom, his thoughts swirled around him, mind flipping over the day like a photo album. The world drifted away and was replaced with a dream that fed the flame burning in his chest. The music from the gang’s band faintly playing in his ear, the sound of the ocean crashing against the shoreline, and there, at the center of the recollection, was that drummer, Johnny.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, everyone! 
> 
> Like I said in my earlier notes, I'm debating about taking this further. If I do, I'll come back and edit this to make it a proper chapter 1 and a proper tittle.
> 
> Till then, you go and have yourself a lovely day xoxo


End file.
